Bio Plastic Skin

bioplastic_making_of.jpegOn Thursday, together with Sara we created the frames to contain the bioplastic that will be the “skin” of the mannequin I am making.
We made two frames from the material to make architectural models and wood. That included cutting wood with a circular saw, hammering the wooden sticks to the foam in order to create a container for the bioplastic with nails and then creating the recipe for the bioplastic twice and putting it in the containers.

We made the recipe twice, based on Clara Davis' recipe tutorial that Sara already used for her laser cut bag.

ORIGINAL RECIPE

240 ml cold water
48 g gelatin powder
12 g glycerol

RECIPE 1 - MULTIPLIED ORIGINAL x4

1000 ml cold water
192 g gelatin powder
48 g glycerol

The first attempt had too little liquid for the surface we planned to cover, and in addition to that the liquid kind of grouped all in the center. The surface tended to deform, so for the future I plan to use a more flat surface, less prone to deformation.

In order to contain the deformation, we used pieces of scrap wood to sustain the surface and keep it more flat.

RECIPE 2 - MULTIPLIED ORIGINAL x6

1440 ml cold water
288 g gelatin powder
72 g glycerol

The gelatin was not enough for the second batch, so Oscar had to go buy some more.
He found a pack for 80 MXN, vs another store that sold it for 280 MXN.

We made the second recipe multiplying it by 6, and this time the amount felt just right. We decided to leave the foam in order to give the bioplastic sheet a “marble” effect. This time the surface was flatter, as we placed the wooden supports in advance, before pouring the liquid.

Now we will be waiting for the bioplastic sheets to cure until Monday. Hopefully they will be ready by then to be laser cut.